core

### Dragging and Dropping Information into a Custom Report

As the "Custom Report Generation" topic describes, you can drag features and other items from the Edit window in Summary mode into the Custom Report Editor (File | Reporting | New | Custom Report).

Example of Dragging a File Header object onto the editing area (the Page object)

When you drop an item into the editor, the appropriate label for that feature, as defined by the Page object's Rule Tree Editor, automatically gets created:

Example of a Dropped File Header object

Replacing Information by Dropping on Top of Existing Labels

If you drag an item on top of an existing label, like this:

Example of Dropping a Dimension on top of an Existing Label

PC-DMIS replaces the existing label with the dropped item:

Example of the Updated Label

Dropping a Floating Label by using the Alt Key

If you drag and drop an item on top of an existing label while pressing the Alt key, like this:

Example of Dragging on top of a Large Page-Size Label

PC-DMIS does NOT replace the information in the label with what you dropped. Instead, it floats the new label on top of the existing label.

Example of Dropping onto a Large Page-Size label with Alt Key Pressed

You may find this useful if you have a large custom label that covers much of the page, and you want to place new labels on top of that label, instead of updating it.

Dropping Feature or Dimension Data on a CADReportObject

If you drag a feature or dimension on top of a CADReportObject (CRO), like this:

Example of Dropping a Dimension on top of a CRO

PC-DMIS adds the appropriate label object and leader-line for the dropped object on top of the CRO. The label that PC-DMIS shows depends on the label specified in the CRO's Rule Tree Editor and not the Rule Tree Editor for the Page object.

Example of a Dropped Dimension on top of a CRO

Dropping Colormaps on a CADReportObject

If you drag a colormap on top of a CadReportObject (CRO), like this:

Example of dropping a surface colormap onto a CRO

PC-DMIS displays the colormap on the CRO:

Example of dropping a surface colormap onto a CRO

For more information on using colormaps with the CRO, see "Colormaps and the CadReportObject".

Dropping Data on an Analysis Object

If you drag a dimension on top of a Analysis object, like this:

Example of Dropping a Dimension on top of an Analysis Object

PC-DMIS displays the graphical analysis information for the dropped dimension inside the Analysis object.

Example of a Dropped Dimension on top of an Analysis Object

Dropping Data on a DimensionHistogram Object

If you drag a dimension on top of a DimensionHistogram object, like this:

Example of Dropping a Dimension on top of a DimensionHistogram Object

PC-DMIS displays the histogram information for the dropped dimension inside the DimensionHistogram object.

Example of a Dropped Dimension on top of a DimensionHistogram Object

Dropping Data Items

If you expand an item's list in the Summary mode to where it displays the different data items, you can drag and drop these data items directly onto the Page object or into a cell of the GridControlObject.

Example of Dropping a Data Item of a Feature's Theoretical X Value into a GridControlObject Cell

PC-DMIS automatically displays the appropriate dropped value:

Example of the Dropped Data Item

You can see that PC-DMIS automatically uses the appropriate reporting expression to display the dropped data:

Example of the Data Item's Expression

Using expressions instead of a hard-coded value means that if this data item changes for some reason, the report is automatically updated with the new information when you re-execute or redraw your report.

Invalid Drop Areas

If you try to drop an item on top of an invalid object (for example if you drag a feature or dimension on top of a Text object) then PC-DMIS changes your pointer to display a red "not allowed" symbol to show you that you cannot drop that item there.

Example of an Invalid Drop Area for a Dragged Dimension

Using Shift and Ctrl Keys When Dropping

While performing the drop of a command (such as a feature or dimension), if you hold down the Shift or Ctrl key and release the button, PC-DMIS does the following:

- Shift key - PC-DMIS inserts a CommandTextObject for that item. This lets you display the information for that item in a textual, non-table format.

- Ctrl key - PC-DMIS displays an Open dialog box allowing you to select a different label template for the item.

When performing a drop of a data item, if you hold down the Ctrl key, PC-DMIS displays the evaluated expression for the data item as well as the descriptive string of text from the Summary mode that precedes it.

Dropping Multiple Items

You can drag and drop multiple items at once from the Edit window in Summary mode. This is useful if you want to quickly add several items into your report.

- To select an entire list of consecutive items, click the first item, press Shift on the keyboard, and click the last item. All items between them are selected.

- To select or deselect individual items to or from your existing selection, press and hold the Ctrl key while clicking on items.

Once you have selected a list of items, simply drag and drop them into the editor.